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Alexandra Burke is a Diva with a Secret

Alexandra Burke starred as ‘Rachel Marron’ in the national tour of “The Bodyguard”, a part she also played in the West End. She originally rose to fame after winning the fifth series of The X Factor. Her debut number one single Hallelujah sold over one million copies in the UK, a first for a British female soloist. Burke’s first album, Overcome saw the release of her subsequent number one singles Bad Boys and Start Without You. In 2011 she embarked on her first solo tour and was invited by Beyoncé to support her I Am… Tour. Her second album, Heartbreak on Hold, was released in June 2012.

Based on the smash hit movie starring Whoopi Goldberg and Maggie Smith, SISTER ACT tells the hilarious story of Deloris Van Cartier, a disco diva whose life takes a surprising turn when she witnesses a murder. Under protective custody she is hidden in the one place she won’t be found – a Convent! Disguised as a nun and under the suspicious watch of Mother Superior, Deloris helps her fellow sisters find their voices as she unexpectedly rediscovers her own.

SISTER ACT features original music by the 8 time Oscar and Tony Award winner Alan Menken. Alan’s credits include the films and stage musicals of Disney’s “Beauty and the Beast”, “Aladdin”, “The Little Mermaid” and “Newsies” as well as “Tangled”, “Enchanted”, “The Hunchback of Notre Dame”, “Pocahontas” and “Hercules” on film. His other credits include the film and stage production of “Little Shop of Horrors”.

This all new production of SISTER ACT is directed and choreographed by Craig Revel Horwood with musical supervision and arrangements by Sarah Travis. Set and costume design is by Matthew Wright, with lighting design by Richard G Jones and sound design by Richard Brooker.

Angela Maynard, in her shop Botany in east London CREDIT: CLARA MOLDEN

Botany was founded in 2014 by Angela Maynard, after a 12-year career in Product Development for various British brands. Botany is an independent plant & lifestyle store situated on Chatsworth Road in the heart of Hackney’s creative community. Her shop’s ethos: We believe that good, useful, ethical design and considered surroundings make for a beautiful and balanced life.

image by Kate Berry for Botany Shop

Angela Maynard grew up in a flat in central London.

“We rarely went on trips to the countryside. I spent a lot of time in Regent’s Park after school. I was also surrounded by plants because of my grandmother. She was Greek Cypriot and she lived in a tiny, tiny flat. She used to have plants outside and inside, she’d take care of the little garden in our square. It was very important to her.”

Clara Rose Thornton – Island People talk in Dublin

The Caribbean is home to rum, reggae and ganja but also to fundamentalist Christians, devout Hindu and Muslims, and is a beguiling, charming region of fascinating, diverse islands, gelled together by the horrors of slavery and the redemption of liberation movements. From Cuba, to Jamaica, Trinidad and Haiti, the Caribbean is an extraordinary melting pot of cultures, language and stories. Joshua Jelly Schapiro’s brilliant book “Island People” captures the magic of the place.

Come hear about this extraordinary corner of the globe, due South West across the Ocean from us, with one of the world’s experts on the Island People.

Clara Rose Thornton

In conversation with Clara Rose Thornton. Clara Rose Thornton is a spoken word artist, culture journalist and radio and television broadcaster whose work focuses on the arts and their intersection with social justice, history, and place.

Clara Rose Thornton will speak over three days at the Dalkey Book Festival in Dublin. Described by Salman Rushdie as “the best little festival in the world”, takes place every year in June. It was set up by Sian Smyth and David McWilliams in 2010. Since then the festival has hosted internationally renowned writers, including Booker Prize winners, a Nobel Laureate, Impac winners, Oscar winners and Costa winners.

The charm of this festival is undoubtedly the intimate nature of the numerous events, which take place in pubs, cafes, shops, schools and the local town hall as well as the medieval graveyard , the secret garden marquee and the Masonic Lodge. Dalkey is the kind of place where you will casually bump into some of the world’s greatest writers, in the parks, pubs and cafes of this compact town.

To get a feel for the festival’s vibe, click here for a collection of Festival videos.

Yassmin Abdel-Magied asks Can you be a good Muslim and a feminist?

Yassmin Abdel-Magied will speak over three days at the Dalkey Book Festival in Dublin. Described by Salman Rushdie as “the best little festival in the world”, takes place every year in June. It was set up by Sian Smyth and David McWilliams in 2010. Since then the festival has hosted internationally renowned writers, including Booker Prize winners, a Nobel Laureate, Impac winners, Oscar winners and Costa winners.

The charm of this festival is undoubtedly the intimate nature of the numerous events, which take place in pubs, cafes, shops, schools and the local town hall as well as the medieval graveyard , the secret garden marquee and the Masonic Lodge. Dalkey is the kind of place where you will casually bump into some of the world’s greatest writers, in the parks, pubs and cafes of this compact town.

To get a feel for the festival’s vibe, click here for a collection of Festival videos.

Yassmin Abdel Magied

Yassmin Abdel-Magied is a Muslim Sudanese-Australian engineer, author, television and radio presenter and activist. Founder and chair of an organisation based in Australia, Youth Without Borders, she is also a mechanical engineer with a passion for boxing and motor sport. Debut author at 24 with the coming-of-age memoir, Yassmin’s Story, the 2015 Queensland Young Australian of the Year advocates for the empowerment of youth, women and those from diverse backgrounds. Writer, engineer, social activist and petrol head – it’s all going on!

MoMineral MakeUp

Mineral Makeup for Dark Skin. Made in UK

After 8 years of working as a freelance makeup artist, Omolara Tayo-Sobajo has seen the shortcomings of many major makeup brands on the high street.

As a passionate advocate for ‘many shades of beauty’, Omolara feels that mainstream makeup brands are still not formulated with women of colour in mind despite countless campaigns from Women of Colour to change this. It was with this knowledge and her passion for makeup that led her to launch the MoMineral MakeUp line.

Only a few makeup brands produced limited shades of foundation for dark skin and the available brands will either leave the skin looking too grey or too “ashy” and dry. In addition to this, the composition of some makeup products available on the market are not always healthy for melanin-rich skin.

Omolara Tayo-Sobajo holds a degree in Microbiology and an MBA.

“MoMineral Makeup was created to provide African and Caribbean women with more choice when it comes to makeup products and our products are formulated from natural ingredients.” – Omolara Tayo Sobajo.

MoMineral Makeup is highly aware of the complex diversity of overtones and undertones caused by the rich melanin pigment in dark skins resulting in many shade variations. The company prides itself on giving women of colour more makeup choices, particularly women with darker skin tones.

MoMineral products are formulated and manufactured in the United Kingdom, regulated and certified by the highest cosmetics standard in order to provide the dark skin with makeup products with skin healthy benefits.

195 Lewis

195 Lewis is an independent web series project about a Black lesbian couple in Bed-Stuy, Brooklyn striving to practice radical honesty in their (newly) polyamorous relationship. Join us Oxford for an exclusive screening of season one!

Adm. Michelle Howard speaks to reporters from NATO Joint Allied Force Command headquarters in Lago Patria, Italy, on Tuesday, June 7, 2016, after assuming its command and the command of U.S. Naval Forces Europe-Africa. Steven Beardsley/Stars and Stripes STEVEN BEARDSLEY/STARS AND STRIPES

Adm. Michelle Howard took the reins of U.S. Naval Forces Europe-Africa and NATO Allied Force Joint Command here on Tuesday, becoming the first woman and African-American to assume command of the joint billet.

The four-star Navy command covers maritime operations in Europe and most of Africa. The NATO command, one of two operational headquarters in the alliance, with the Netherlands’ JFC Brunssum, is responsible for planning and executing NATO missions. It has operational command of the NATO mission in Kosovo, known as KFOR.